Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is away from the team on an "excused absence" for "personal reasons, head coach J.J. Redick told reporters on Thursday (December 12).

"LeBron is not with the team right now," Redick said via ESPN. "He's out for personal reasons, excused absence."

James, 39, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, is expected to miss Friday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to ESPN. The four-time NBA champion missed Sunday's (December 8) loss to the Portland Trail Blazers due to left foot soreness, his first absence of the 2024-25 NBA season.

James was coming off a season-high 43 minutes played during an overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks, recording 39 points (14-of-25 shooting), 11 assists, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots prior to missing Sunday's game.

James' absence comes amid UFC fighter Colby Covington referencing the NBA star previously appearing on an Instagram live chat with Sean 'Diddy' Combs and stating, "ain't no party like a Diddy party," years before the rapper and entrepreneur was accused of more than 100 sexual abuse allegations in relation to his alleged "freak-offs."

"What does LeBron mean by that? How many Diddy parties has he actually attended?," Covington asked about James, who has never been mentioned in any lawsuits against Combs.

James is currently averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists.

Samantha Layne